stereophoney
New member
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2013
- Messages
- 14
Bought a 1.4 Puma last Sunday, 66k miles, a nice looking little car off ebay. Supposedly full service history, though only a stamped book. Last one was done in Dec 2012 @ 64k. Drove it 80 miles home without issue, though I will admit to not checking everything before buying, which could have been a huge mistake.
The next day I decided to have a proper look over it. Both rear tyres had some cracks in the tread, which wasn't too surprising when I saw they were from 2002! Replaced them with some Dunlop Sport Blue response 195/50/15 which are really good and much quieter than the Chinese rubbish they replaced.
Underneath it doesn't look too bad, expected surface rust but nothing to worry about. Under the bonnet was a different matter. All looked good, coolant nice and clear and on max. Checked the dipstick - nothing was on it. Cleaned it and tried again - not a drop of oil on it! Put 1l in and it took it above min, but was certainly worrying. Checked each day and hasn't dropped, and no evidence of a leak on the floor, so hopefully just poor maintenance.
Due to the oil level I thought it best to carry out a full service myself, so I'd know it was all done. Spark plugs looked fairly new, but changed anyway. Air filter was new, left that, but the top wouldn't bolt down, so used some slightly bigger bolts to secure it. Pollen filter was filthy so changed. Fuel filter was very old so that was also changed. Then the oil...
Jacked it up on the passenger side and used 1 axle stand. Got under and tried to undo the sump nut, and it wouldn't budge, then just rounded off using a 1/2 socket. Went out a bought a set of Mac Allister grip sockets from B&Q, got the nut off in a second. Oil was quite black and didn't look very fresh. Tried to undo the oil filter, and it wouldn't budge. Luckily I had the correct socket to get it off, it was very tight, certainly much more than hand-tight! Had a look at the old sump nut and the washer was plastic and cracked. Replaced with a new one from GSF with rubber washer and a new filter. Tightened everything up and filled with 4l. Turned on and no drips!
Another issue I noticed was that the mpg was a lot less than I though it would be. After the service it now seems fine. Hooked it up to OBD2 reader and got an average of 38mpg over 20 miles, so not too shabby!
The next day I decided to have a proper look over it. Both rear tyres had some cracks in the tread, which wasn't too surprising when I saw they were from 2002! Replaced them with some Dunlop Sport Blue response 195/50/15 which are really good and much quieter than the Chinese rubbish they replaced.
Underneath it doesn't look too bad, expected surface rust but nothing to worry about. Under the bonnet was a different matter. All looked good, coolant nice and clear and on max. Checked the dipstick - nothing was on it. Cleaned it and tried again - not a drop of oil on it! Put 1l in and it took it above min, but was certainly worrying. Checked each day and hasn't dropped, and no evidence of a leak on the floor, so hopefully just poor maintenance.
Due to the oil level I thought it best to carry out a full service myself, so I'd know it was all done. Spark plugs looked fairly new, but changed anyway. Air filter was new, left that, but the top wouldn't bolt down, so used some slightly bigger bolts to secure it. Pollen filter was filthy so changed. Fuel filter was very old so that was also changed. Then the oil...
Jacked it up on the passenger side and used 1 axle stand. Got under and tried to undo the sump nut, and it wouldn't budge, then just rounded off using a 1/2 socket. Went out a bought a set of Mac Allister grip sockets from B&Q, got the nut off in a second. Oil was quite black and didn't look very fresh. Tried to undo the oil filter, and it wouldn't budge. Luckily I had the correct socket to get it off, it was very tight, certainly much more than hand-tight! Had a look at the old sump nut and the washer was plastic and cracked. Replaced with a new one from GSF with rubber washer and a new filter. Tightened everything up and filled with 4l. Turned on and no drips!
Another issue I noticed was that the mpg was a lot less than I though it would be. After the service it now seems fine. Hooked it up to OBD2 reader and got an average of 38mpg over 20 miles, so not too shabby!
